Covering for an architectural opening

ABSTRACT

A covering for an architectural opening is provided. The covering may include an accumulator roller, a shade attached to the accumulator roller, and a shade actuation system. The shade may be wrappable about the roller. The shade may include two laterally-separable sheets interconnected by a plurality of vertically-spaced vanes. The shade actuation system may be selectively engageable with a confronting face of one of the two laterally-separable sheets. Engagement of the shade actuation system and the one of the two laterally-separable sheets may restrict movement of the one of the two laterally-separable sheets relative to the other of the two laterally-separable sheets.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/801,946, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to coverings for architecturalopenings.

BACKGROUND

Coverings for architectural openings, such as windows, doors, archways,and the like, have taken numerous forms for many years. Some coveringsinclude a retractable shade that is movable between an extended positionand a retracted position. In the extended position, the shade of thecovering may be positioned across the opening. In the retractedposition, the shade of the covering may be positioned adjacent one ormore sides of the opening.

SUMMARY

Examples of the disclosure may include a covering for an architecturalopening. The covering may include a rotatable roller, a shade attachedto the first roller and wrappable about the roller, and an actuatoroperably associated with the shade. The shade may include twolaterally-separable sheets interconnected by a plurality ofvertically-spaced vanes.

In another example, the covering may include an accumulator roller, ashade attached to the accumulator roller, and a shade actuation system.The shade may be wrappable about the accumulator roller. The shade mayinclude two laterally-separable sheets interconnected by a plurality ofvertically-spaced vanes. The shade actuation system may be selectivelyengageable with a confronting face of one of the two laterally-separablesheets. Engagement of the shade actuation system and the one of the twolaterally-separable sheets may restrict movement of the one of the twolaterally-separable sheets relative to the other of the twolaterally-separable sheets. The shade actuation system may be engageablewith the one of the two laterally-separable sheets at a partiallyextended position of the shade.

In some examples, the shade actuator system may include an actuatorroller, and the shade may drape over the actuation roller. The actuationroller may be rotatable. The actuation roller may include an outersurface with a grip surface. The grip surface may extend around anentire periphery of the actuation roller. The grip surface may extendpartially around a periphery of the actuation roller. The actuationroller may include an outwardly-projecting fin.

In some examples, the shade actuator system includes a cam platerotatably coupled to the accumulator roller. In some examples, the shadeactuator system includes a lever engaged with the cam plate. In someexamples, the shade actuator system includes an engagement membernon-rotatably coupled to the actuation roller. In some examples, thelever is selectively engageable with the engagement member based on therotational position of the cam plate. In some examples, the leverincludes a first leg that engages the cam plate and a second leg thatselectively engages the engagement member. In some examples, the leveris pivotable about an axis defined between the first and second legs.

In some examples, the shade actuator system may include a locking bar.The actuation roller may include an external gear, and the locking barmay include a lever with a gear profile corresponding to the externalgear. The shade may extend between the actuation roller and the lockingbar.

In some examples, the shade actuator system may include a plate and apositioning device pivotably coupled to the plate. The plate may beslidable relative to the positioning device. The positioning device maydefine a pathway, and the plate may include a pin that extends into thepathway. The pathway may form a closed loop. The pathway may define anisland. The pathway may be recessed into a face of the positioningdevice that confronts the plate.

This summary of the disclosure is given to aid understanding, and one ofskill in the art will understand that each of the various aspects andfeatures of the disclosure may advantageously be used separately in someinstances, or in combination with other aspects and features of thedisclosure in other instances. Accordingly, while the disclosure ispresented in terms of examples, it should be appreciated that individualaspects of any example can be claimed separately or in combination withaspects and features of that example or any other example.

This summary is neither intended nor should it be construed as beingrepresentative of the full extent and scope of the present disclosure.The present disclosure is set forth in various levels of detail in thisapplication and no limitation as to the scope of the claimed subjectmatter is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements,components, or the like in this summary. Moreover, reference made hereinto “the present invention” or aspects thereof should be understood tomean certain examples of the present disclosure and should notnecessarily be construed as limiting all examples to a particulardescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate examples of the disclosure and,together with the general description given above and the detaileddescription given below, serve to explain the principles of theseexamples.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a covering with a shade extended from afront portion of a head rail and oriented in a closed or collapsedposition.

FIG. 1A is an isometric view of a covering with a shade extended from arear portion of a head rail and oriented in a closed or collapsedposition.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the covering of FIG. 1 with the shade inan open or expanded position.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, isometric view of the covering of FIG. 1 withan example shade actuator system.

FIG. 4 is a partially-exploded, fragmentary, isometric view of thecovering of FIG. 1 with the shade actuator system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, isometric view of the covering of FIG. 1 withthe shade actuator system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a partially-exploded, fragmentary, isometric view of thecovering of FIG. 1 with the shade actuator system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1 takenalong the line 7-7 illustrated in FIG. 1 with the shade actuator systemof FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 8-8 illustrated in FIG. 7 with the shade actuator system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1 takenalong the line 9-9 illustrated in FIG. 9 with the shade actuator systemof FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 10-10 illustrated in FIG. 9 with the shade actuator system of FIG.3.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 8-8 illustrated in FIG. 7 with another example shade actuatorsystem.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 10-10 illustrated in FIG. 9 with the shade actuator system of FIG.11.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 8-8 illustrated in FIG. 7 with another example shade actuatorsystem.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 10-10 illustrated in FIG. 9 with the shade actuator system of FIG.13.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 8-8 illustrated in FIG. 7 with another example shade actuatorsystem.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the covering of FIG. 1 taken along theline 10-10 illustrated in FIG. 9 with the shade actuator system of FIG.15.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of the shade actuator system of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary, isometric view of the covering of FIG. 1A withanother example shade actuator system.

FIG. 19 is an isometric view of the shade actuator system of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is an exploded, isometric view of the shade actuator system ofFIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1A takenalong the line 21-21 illustrated in FIG. 18 with the shade actuatorsystem of FIG. 18. FIG. 21 depicts the shade actuator system in araising or raised position with the shade in a closed configuration.

FIG. 22 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1A takenalong the line 21-21 illustrated in FIG. 18 with the shade actuatorsystem of FIG. 18. FIG. 22 depicts the shade actuator system in a firstlowering position where the vanes begin to open.

FIG. 23 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1A takenalong the line 21-21 illustrated in FIG. 18 with the shade actuatorsystem of FIG. 18. FIG. 21 depicts the shade actuator system in a secondlowering position where the vanes are continuing to open.

FIG. 24 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1A takenalong the line 21-21 illustrated in FIG. 18 with the shade actuatorsystem of FIG. 18. FIG. 24 depicts the shade actuator system in a thirdlowering position where the vanes are fully opened.

FIG. 25 is a transverse section view of the covering of FIG. 1A takenalong the line 21-21 illustrated in FIG. 18 with the shade actuatorsystem of FIG. 18. FIG. 25 depicts the shade actuator system in a fourthlowering position where the vanes are closed.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of the shade actuator system of FIG. 18taken along the line 26-26 illustrated in FIG. 21.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale.In certain instances, details that are not necessary for anunderstanding of the disclosure or that render other details difficultto perceive may have been omitted. In the appended drawings, similarcomponents and/or features may have the same reference label. Further,various components of the same type may be distinguished by followingthe reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similarcomponents. If only the first reference label is used in thespecification, the description is applicable to any one of the similarcomponents having the same first reference label irrespective of thesecond reference label. It should be understood that the claimed subjectmatter is not necessarily limited to the particular examples orarrangements illustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a covering for an architectural opening.The covering may include a head rail, a roller operably associated withthe head rail, a shade attached to the roller, and a shade or vaneactuator system operably associated with the shade to selectively openor expand the shade at substantially any extension position of theshade.

In one application of the shade or vane actuator system, a shade mayinclude a pair of laterally-spaced sheets or panels of fabricinterconnected to one another by a plurality of vertically-spaced vanes.The shade actuator system may selectively engage the shade to alter therelative motion between the sheets. In one implementation, the shadeactuator system may selectively engage one of a front or a rear sheet ofa shade to restrain movement of the respective sheet relative to theother sheet, thereby causing relative movement between the sheets, whichmay result in actuation of the shade from a closed or collapsedconfiguration into an open or expanded configuration.

The shade actuator system may include a grip surface that abuts,contacts, or engages a confronting face of a shade panel to restrictmotion of that panel, while substantially not impairing the motion ofanother, non-contacted panel. The grip surface may be gnarled, knurled,adhesively treated, chemically etched, or include other friction surfacefeatures configured to resist movement of a shade member along or overthe grip surface. The grip surface may be movable relative to the shadeto selectively engage the shade. For example, the grip surface may bepivotable, rotatable, translatable, or otherwise movable into engagementwith the shade. The grip surface may be releasably locked into anengaged or disengaged position.

The shade actuator system may include a slide surface that abuts orcontacts a confronting face of a shade panel. The slide surface may beconfigured to permit the shade panel to move substantially freely oruninhibited along or over the slide surface. The slide surface mayinclude a surface finish, such as a polish, to facilitate substantiallyfree movement of the confronting shade member along or over the slidesurface. The slide surface may be movable relative to the shade toselectively contact the shade. For example, the slide surface may bepivotable, rotatable, translatable, or otherwise movable into contactwith the shade. The slide surface may be releasably locked into anengaged or disengaged position. In some implementations, the slidesurface may be in an opposite position relative to the grip surface. Forexample, when the grip surface is in an engaged position, the slidesurface may be in a disengaged position, and vice versa.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a retractable covering 10 for an architecturalopening is provided. The retractable covering 10 may include a head rail14, a bottom rail 18, and a shade 22 extending between the head rail 14and the bottom rail 18. The head rail 14 may include two opposing endcaps 26, which may enclose the ends of the head rail 14 to provide afinished appearance. The bottom rail 18 may extend substantiallyhorizontally along a lower edge of the shade 22 and may function as abalast to maintain the shade 22 in a taut condition.

The shade 22 may include vertically suspended front and rear panels orsheets 30, 34 of flexible material (such as sheer fabric) and aplurality of horizontally-extending, vertically-spaced flexible,semi-rigid, or rigid vanes 38. Each of the vanes 38 may be secured alonghorizontal lines of attachment with a front edge attached to the frontsheet 30 and a rear edge attached to the rear sheet 34. The sheets 30,34 and vanes 38 may form a plurality of elongated, vertically-aligned,longitudinally-extending, transversely-collapsible cellular units whichare longitudinally secured, such as adhered, to adjacent cellular unitsto define a vertical stack of cellular units, which may be referred toas a cellular panel. The sheets 30, 34 and/or the vanes 38 may beconstructed of continuous lengths of material or may be constructed ofstrips of material attached or joined together in an edge-to-edge,overlapping, or other suitable relationship.

The shade 22 may be constructed of substantially any type of material.For example, the shade 22 may be constructed from natural and/orsynthetic materials, including fabrics, polymers, and/or other suitablematerials. Fabric materials may include woven, non-woven, knits, orother suitable fabric types. The shade 22 may have any suitable level oflight transmissivity. For example, the shade 22, including the sheets30, 34 and/or the vanes 38, may be constructed of transparent,translucent, and/or opaque materials to provide a desired ambience ordécor in an associated room. In one example, the sheets 30, 34 aretransparent and/or translucent, and the vanes 38 are translucent and/oropaque.

Referring to FIGS. 3-4, the shade 22 may be operably associated with aroller 40, which may extend longitudinally between, and be rotatablycoupled to, opposing end caps 26. Rotational movement of the roller 40about a longitudinally-extending axis 41 may move the shade 22 betweenextended and retracted positions. For instance, the shade 22 may becoupled to and wrappable about the roller 40 so that rotation of theroller 40 in a first direction may retract the shade 22 to a positionadjacent one or more sides of an associated architectural opening androtation of the roller 40 in a second, opposite direction may extend theshade 22 across the opening. An upper edge of each of the front and rearsheets 30, 34 of the shade 22 may be coupled to an inwardly-directed,longitudinally extending gland or rib 42. The gland 42 may define aninternal cavity that opens through a periphery of the roller 40. Theinternal cavity of the gland 42 may be configured to receive an upperedge of the shade 22, which may be hemmed and include a strip ofmaterial extending longitudinally within a hem-defined pocket.

With reference to FIG. 4, the covering 10 may include bushings 44associated with each end of the roller 40. The bushings 44 may berotatably associated with non-rotatable posts 50 that protrude axiallyfrom respective mounting brackets 114, which may be removably attachedto respective end caps 26. The bushings 44 may be keyed to the roller 40to rotate in unison with the roller 40 relative to the non-rotatableposts 50. For example, the bushings 44 may extend at least partiallyinto an interior space of the ends of the roller 40. The bushings 44 mayinclude a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, radially-extending ribs52 (see FIGS. 7 and 9) configured to engage an inner surface of theroller 40 and/or interact with a longitudinally-extending gland 42formed in the roller 40.

To move the shade 22 between extended and retracted positions, anoperator may actuate an operating system (by raising or lowering thebottom rail 18, for example) to wrap or unwrap the shade 22 about orfrom the roller 40. For example, to retract the shade 22 from anextended position (see FIG. 1), the operator may lift or raise thebottom rail 18 toward the head rail 14. A spring assist module orcounterbalancing unit may be positioned within the head rail 14, and,upon an upward movement of the bottom rail 18, the module may rotate theroller 40 in a retraction direction and wind the shade 22 around anouter periphery of the roller 40. To extend the shade 22, the operatormay lower or pull downwards on the bottom rail 18, which in turn mayunwind the shade 22 from the roller 40. The spring assist module mayprovide a counterbalancing force that may be substantially equal to theweight of the suspended portion of the shade 22. As such, once theraising or lowering force is ceased, the spring assist module maysubstantially hold or maintain the shade 22 in the desired position. Thespring assist module may be positioned within the roller 40 and may berotatably associated with an end of the roller 40. Further detailsregarding the structure and operation of an example spring assist moduleor counterbalancing unit may be found in International Publication No.WO 2013/033014 A1, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

In addition or alternatively to the spring assist module, the covering10 may include a pulley assembly (actuated by an operating element, forexample), an electric motor, a combination thereof, or any othersuitable drive element or mechanism. In some implementations, thecovering 10 may include an electric motor configured to extend orretract the shade 22 upon receiving an extension or retraction command.In these implementations, the covering 10 may include a transceiveroperable to communicate with a transmitter, such as a remote controlunit. As such, the covering 10 may be operated mechanically and/orelectrically.

The shade 22 may include open and closed positions. With reference toFIG. 1, the shade 22 is illustrated in a closed or collapsed position inwhich the front and rear sheets 30, 34 may be relatively close to oneanother and the vanes 38 may extend substantially vertically in anapproximately coplanar, contiguous relationship with the front and rearsheets 30, 34. With reference to FIG. 2, the shade 22 is illustrated inan open or expanded position in which the front and rear sheets 30, 34may be laterally spaced from one another and the vanes 38 may extendsubstantially horizontally between the sheets 30, 34.

To open or expand the shade 22 at substantially any extended position,the covering 10 may include a shade actuator system. With reference toFIGS. 3-4, the shade actuator system 102 may include a shade actuationroller 104 and a locking bar 106, each of which may extend transverselybetween the end caps 26 across a full width of the shade 22. The shadeactuation roller 104 may include an elongate shaft 108 having a roundedouter surface 108 a, which may be substantially cylindrical. The outersurface 108 a of the shade actuation roller 104 may be formed as a gripsurface 109 so that movement of the shade 22 over the shade actuationroller 104 generally rotates the shade actuation roller 104. The gripsurface 109 may extend continuously or discontinuously along the lengthand/or the circumference of the roller 104. In some implementations, theentire outer surface 108 a of the shade actuation roller 104 is formedas a grip surface 109 (see FIGS. 4 and 7-10). In some implementations,the grip surface 109 extends continuously around the periphery of theouter surface 108 a for the full length of the outer surface 108 a. Insome implementations, the grip surface 109 is formed as segments orstrips that extend the full length of the outer surface 108 a and arecircumferentially spaced about the outer surface 108 a of the roller104. In some implementations, the grip surface 109 is formed as ringsthat extend continuously around the periphery of the outer surface 108 aand are spaced axially apart from one another along the length of theroller 104.

A gear or gear form 110 may be attached to one or both ends of theelongate shaft 108 and may rotate in unison with the shaft 108. Forexample, the gear 110 may be integrally formed with the shaft 108 orseparately formed and non-rotatably keyed to the shaft 108. The gear 110may include a plurality of external, radially-projecting teeth, whichmay extend substantially parallel to a rotation axis of the gear 110.The gear 110 may be a spur gear, a straight-cut gear, a helical gear, oranother suitable gear.

The shade actuation roller 104 may be rotatably coupled to the head rail14 so that the shade actuation roller 104 rolls or rotates substantiallyfreely with the shade 22. The shade actuation roller 104 may berotatably supported on opposing ends by stub shafts 112 (see FIGS. 4-6).The stub shafts 112 may extend into opposing ends of the shade actuationroller 104 and may include a substantially cylindrical outer bearingsurface on which the ends of the shade actuation roller 104 may rotate.The stub shafts 112 may be attached to respective mounting plates 114,which may be removably secured to the end caps 26. The stub shafts 112may include an inner wall that defines an inner cavity.

With reference to FIGS. 4-6, the covering 10 may include a limitassembly 116 configured to set a travel limit or stop for the shade 22.The limit assembly 116 may be positioned within the shade actuationroller 104 by inserting the limit assembly 116 through an openingdefined by an end of the shade actuation roller 104. The limit assembly116 and the roller 104 may be substantially aligned along a longitudinalaxis 118 of the roller 104. The limit assembly 116 may be assembled as asingle, modular unit. The limit assembly 116 may be added to existingcoverings (i.e., retrofit) and may be referred to as a module, system,or unit. The bottom travel limit or stop may be set so that a sufficientor remainder length of the shade 22 remains on the roller 40 uponreaching the bottom stop to permit actuation of the vanes into an openposition.

As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the limit assembly 116 may include anexternally-threaded, non-rotatable shaft or limit screw 119, a bottomstop 120 attached to the limit screw 119, and a travelable nut 122threaded onto the limit screw 119. The limit screw 119 may benon-rotatably attached to the end cap 26 via a keyed engagement with thestub shaft 112. A fastener 124 may axially secure the limit screw 118 tothe mounting plate 114.

With continued reference to FIGS. 4-6, the bottom stop 120 may besubstantially immovable or stationary relative to the limit screw 119.The bottom stop 120 may be formed integrally with, or separately fromand fixedly attached to, the limit screw 119. The bottom stop 120 mayextend outwardly from a periphery of the threaded limit screw 119 andmay form an outwardly-extending abutment flange. A tab may protrude fromthe bottom stop 120 and may be radially positioned within a rotationalpath of a lug formed on the travelable nut 122.

The travelable nut 122 may be threaded onto the limit screw 119 and maybe non-rotatably keyed to the shade actuation roller 104. The nut 122may rotate substantially in unison with the shade actuation roller 104,which may cause the nut to translate or travel along a length of thelimit screw 119. The nut 122 may include a keying pattern or structurethat generally corresponds with a keying pattern or structure defined byan inner surface of the shade actuation roller 104. With reference toFIG. 6, an inner surface of the shade actuation roller 104 may define alongitudinally-extending, inwardly-directed fin 126 configured to bereceived within a longitudinally-extending slot 128 formed in an outersurface of the nut 122.

During rotation of the roller 104 in a shade raising or retractingdirection, the nut 122 may translate axially along the limit screw 119away from bottom stop 120. Conversely, during rotation of the roller 104in a shade dispensing or extending direction, the nut 122 may translateaxially along the limit screw 119 toward the bottom stop 120. Upon theshade 22 reaching a certain extended position, the nut 122 may contactor engage the bottom stop 120, thereby substantially preventing furtherrotation of the shade actuation roller 104 as the nut 122 isnon-rotatably keyed to the shade actuation roller 104. In oneimplementation, a lug of the nut 122 may contact a tab of the bottomstop 120 to substantially prevent further rotation, and thustranslation, of the nut 122 relative to the limit screw 119 in the shadeextension direction.

The limit assembly may include two or more magnets configured to retainthe nut 122 in a bottom position adjacent the bottom stop 120. Forexample, the nut 122 and at least one of the limit screw 119 or thebottom stop 120 may include a magnet configured to interact with oneanother to hold or retain the nut 122 in the bottom stop positionsubstantially immediately adjacent the bottom stop 120. The magnets maybe oriented to attract and hold the bottom position. The magnets may bespaced and/or sized such that the magnets may break or separate apartfrom one another when the shade 22 is raised. In one implementation, amagnet is secured within a radial protrusion 130 of the bottom stop 120and a corresponding magnet is secured within the nut 122 to retain thenut 122 in a bottom position adjacent the bottom stop 120.

With reference to FIGS. 3-5, the locking bar 106 may include an elongateshaft 132 having a rounded outer surface 132 a, which may besubstantially cylindrical. A locking lever 134 may be attached to one orboth ends of the elongate shaft 132. The locking lever 134 may beintegrally formed with the shaft 132 or separately formed andnon-rotatably keyed to the shaft 132. The locking lever 134 may includea toothed portion 136 having one or more teeth positioned along a sideof the locking lever that generally confronts the gear 110 of the shadeactuation roller 104. In some implementations, the locking lever 134includes a plurality of gear teeth that correspond to the gear 110. Theteeth may extend substantially parallel to a pivot axis 138 of thelocking bar 106 (see FIG. 4).

The locking bar 106 may be rotatably supported on opposing ends by theend caps 26. The locking bar 106 may include a pivot pin 140 projectingfrom a lateral side of each locking lever 136. The pivot pin 140 may bejournaled within the mounting plates 114 and may define the pivot axis138 of the locking bar 106 (see FIG. 4). The elongate shaft 132 and thetoothed portion 136 of the locking bar 106 may be offset from the pivotaxis 138 of the locking bar 106 and may be positioned on generallyopposite sides of the pivot axis 138 relative to one another. A biasingelement may be associated with the locking bar 106 to bias the toothedportion 136 away from the gear 110. For example, a torsion spring may bepositioned around the pivot pin 140 and may interact with the mountingplate 114 or the end cap 26 to bias the locking lever 136 out ofengagement with the gear 110.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, and 9, the longitudinal axis 118 of theshade actuation roller 104 may be positioned forward and upward of thelongitudinal axis 41 of the roller 40, and the pivot axis 138 of thelocking bar 106 may be positioned forward and downward of thelongitudinal axis 118 of the shade actuation roller 104. Thelongitudinal axes 41, 118, 138 of the roller 40, the shade actuationroller 104, and the locking bar 106 may be substantially parallel to oneanother.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 7, and 9, the shade 22 may be unwrapped froma top portion of the roller 40 in a forward direction, draped over theshade actuation roller 104, and extend downward from a front side of theshade actuation roller 104. The shade actuation roller 104 and thelocking bar 106 may be positioned on opposite sides of the shade 22. Theshade actuation roller 104 may be positioned forward of the roller 40and underneath the shade 22 such that the shade actuation roller 104 mayabut or contact the rear sheet 34 of the shade 22. The elongate shaft132 of the locking bar 106 may be positioned forward of the shade 22,and the elongate shaft 132 may abut or contact the front sheet 30 of theshade 22. The gears 110 and the locking levers 134 may be positionedlaterally outward of the side edges of the shade 22 so as to notinterfere with movement of the shade 22. That is, the shade 22 may bedraped over the shade actuation roller 104 laterally between the gears110 and may extend rearward of the elongate shaft 132 of the locking bar106. In an alternative implementation, the arrangement of the roller 40,the shade actuation roller 104, and the locking bar 106 may be flippedfrom front to back so that the shade 22 is unwrapped from a top portionof the roller 40 in a rearward direction.

With reference to FIGS. 7-8, the shade 22 is wrapped around the roller40, draped over the shade actuation roller 104, and extendedsubstantially vertically downward from the shade actuation roller 104.To extend the shade 22, the operator may pull downwardly on the bottomrail 18, which may rotate the shade actuation roller 104 about itslongitudinal axis 118. To open or expand the shade 22 from the depictedclosed position, the operator may rotationally lock the rotation of theshade actuation roller 104 when the shade 22 is in a desired extendedposition. For instance, the operator may grasp the bottom rail 18 and/orthe shade 22 and pull the shade 22 forwardly into an associated room,causing the shade 22 to contact the elongate shaft 132 and pivot thelocking bar 106, resulting in the toothed portion 136 of the lockinglever 134 engaging the gear 110 of the shade actuation roller 104,thereby substantially preventing rotation of the shade actuation roller104. An engagement between the toothed portion 136 and the gear 110 mayretain the locking lever 134 in the locked position until repositioningof the shade 22 is desired.

Once the shade actuation roller 104 is rotationally locked, the operatormay pivot the bottom rail 18 from the depicted substantially verticalorientation toward a horizontal orientation, which may pull the frontsheet 30 over the top of the shade actuation roller 104 relative to theback sheet 34. The back sheet 34 may be substantially prevented frommoving over the shade actuation roller 104 due to the grip surface 109of the shade actuation roller 104. As such, an extra length of the frontsheet 30 may be extended downward from the shade actuation roller 104relative to the rear sheet 34, which may result in the vanes 38separating the front and rear sheets 30, 34 as illustrated in FIG. 9.The vanes 38 may resiliently bias the front and rear sheets 30, 34 awayfrom each other. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the biasing force of thevanes 38 may wrap a portion of the rear sheet 34 around a bottom portionof the shade actuation roller 104. To close the shade 22, and thus thevanes 38, the operator may tug down slightly on the shade 22 to releasethe engagement of the toothed portion 136 of the lever lock 134 and thegear 110 of the shade actuation roller 104. Once the lever lock 134 isdisengaged from the gear 110, the spring assist module in the roller 40may hold or maintain the shade 22 in position until the bottom rail 18is lifted, at which point the spring assist module may retract the shade22 and wind the shade 22 around the roller 40. In some implementations,upon the locking bar 106 stopping the rotation of the shade actuationroller 104, further rotation of the roller 40 may cause the rear sheet34 to bulge downwardly between the roller 40 and the actuation roller104 and the shade 22 may hang substantially centered relative to afront, tangential edge of the actuation roller 104.

FIGS. 11-12 illustrate a second example of a shade actuator system 202.The preceding discussion of the features and operation of the shadeactuator system 102 should be considered equally applicable to the shadeactuator system 202, except as noted in the following discussion. Thereference numerals used in FIGS. 11-12 generally correspond to thereference numbers used in FIGS. 1-10 to reflect similar parts andcomponents.

With reference to FIGS. 11-12, the shade actuator system 202 isillustrated in two operational positions: a disengaged position (FIG.11) and an engaged position (FIG. 12). In the disengaged position (FIG.11), a grip surface 209 of the shade actuator system 202 may be rotatedaway from the rear shade 34 in a counterclockwise direction to permitextension and retraction of the shade 22 without interference from thegrip surface 209. In the engaged position (FIG. 12), the grip surface209 of the shade actuator system 202 may be engaged with a rear sheet 34of the shade 22, thereby obstructing the generally downward motion ofthe rear sheet 34 off of a front side of the shade actuation roller 204,which may cause the shade 22 to open or expand under the influence ofthe bottom rail 18 (FIGS. 1-2), the vanes 38 (FIG. 12), or both. Torotate the shade actuation roller 204 about its longitudinal axis, adrive system may be operably associated with the roller 204. The drivesystem may include a pulley system, a motor, or other suitable drivesystems. The drive system may be actuated mechanically or electrically.

With continued reference to FIGS. 11-12, the shade actuator system 202may include a shade actuation roller 204, which may extend transverselybetween the end caps 26 across a full width of the shade 22. The shadeactuation roller 204 may include an elongate shaft 208 having a roundedouter surface 208 a, which may be substantially cylindrical. The outersurface 208 a may include two surfaces with different coefficient offrictions: a grip surface 209 and a slide surface 213. The grip andslide surfaces 209, 213 may collectively form substantially the entireperiphery of the outer surface 208 a. The angular size or range of therespective surfaces 209, 213 may vary. In some implementations, the gripsurface 209 may extend around the shade actuation roller 204 betweenabout 5 degrees and about 180 degrees of the outer surface 208 a, withthe slide surface 213 forming the remainder of the outer surface 208 a.

The shade actuation roller 204 may be selectively rotatable about itslongitudinal axis to selectively engage or disengage the grip surface209 with the rear sheet 34 of the shade 22. When the slide surface 213is in contact with the rear sheet 34, the surface 213 may permit therear sheet 34 to substantially freely slide over the surface 213.Conversely, when the grip surface 209 is in contact with the rear sheet34, the grip surface 209 may substantially prevent the rear sheet 34from moving relative to the grip surface 209, which, as previouslydiscussed, may result in the opening or expanding of the shade 22.

With continued reference to FIGS. 11-12, when substantially uninhibitedshade extension or retraction is desired, an operator may orient theshade actuation roller 204 so that the shade 22 passes over the slidesurface 213. To open the shade 22 at substantially any extendedposition, the operator may rotate the shade actuation roller 204 toengage the grip surface 209 with the rear sheet 34 of the shade 22. Thegrip surface 209 of the shade actuation roller 204 may substantiallyprevent the rear sheet 34 from moving, and thus the vanes 38 may open asa result of the relative movement between the front and rear sheets 30,34.

FIGS. 13-14 illustrate a third example of a shade actuator system 302.The preceding discussion of the features and operation of the shadeactuator system 102, 202 should be considered equally applicable to theshade actuator system 302, except as noted in the following discussion.The reference numerals used in FIGS. 13-14 generally correspond to thereference numbers used in FIGS. 1-12 to reflect similar parts andcomponents.

With reference to FIGS. 13-14, the shade actuator system 302 isillustrated in two operational positions: a disengaged position (FIG.13) and an engaged position (FIG. 14). In the disengaged position (FIG.14), a grip surface 309 of the shade actuator system 302 may be rotatedaway from the rear shade 34 in a counterclockwise direction to permitextension and retraction of the shade 22 without interference from thegrip surface 309. In the engaged position (FIG. 14), the grip surface309 of the shade actuator system 302 may be engaged with a rear sheet 34of the shade 22, thereby obstructing the generally downward motion ofthe rear sheet 34 off of a front side of the shade actuation roller 304,which may cause the shade 22 to open or expand under the influence ofthe bottom rail 18 (FIGS. 1-2), the vanes 38 (FIG. 14), or both. Torotate the shade actuation roller 304 about its longitudinal axis, adrive system may be operably associated with the roller 304. The drivesystem may include a pulley system, a motor, or other suitable drivesystems. The drive system may be actuated mechanically or electrically.

With continued reference to FIGS. 13-14, the shade actuator system 302may include a shade actuation roller 304, which may extend transverselybetween the end caps 26 across a full width of the shade 22. The shadeactuation roller 304 may include an elongate shaft 308 having a roundedouter surface 308 a, which may be substantially cylindrical. The outersurface 308 a may include a slide surface 213 extending over a majorityof the outer surface 308 a of the roller 304. A protrusion 315 mayextend outward from the outer surface 308 a of the shade actuationroller 304 and may extend lengthwise along the elongate shaft 308. Theprotrusion may extend continuously or discontinuously alongsubstantially the entire length of the elongate shaft 308. Theprotrusion 315 may be rigid or semi-rigid. The protrusion 315 may bepermanently attached to the roller 304 or may be removeably attached tothe roller 304 for maintenance purposes. In some implementations, theprotrusion 315 is removeably fit into a slot formed in the roller 304 orotherwise secured to the roller 304. A grip surface 309 may beassociated with a confronting face of the protrusion 315 relative to therear sheet 34 of the shade 22. In some implementations, the entireprotrusion 315 may be considered a grip surface 309 of the roller 304.

The shade actuation roller 304 may be rotatable about its longitudinalaxis to selectively engage or disengage the grip surface 309 of theprotrusion 315 with or from the rear sheet 34 of the shade 22. When theslide surface 308 a is in contact with the rear sheet 34, the surface308 a may permit the rear sheet 34 to substantially freely slide overthe surface 308 a. Conversely, when the protrusion 315 is in contactwith the rear sheet 34, the grip surface 309 may substantially preventthe rear sheet 34 from moving relative to the protrusion 315, which, aspreviously discussed in relation to the shade actuator systems 102 and202, may result in the opening or expanding of the shade 22.

With continued reference to FIGS. 13-14, when substantially uninhibitedshade extension or retraction is desired, an operator may rotate theshade actuation roller 304 to disengage the protrusion 315, and thus thegrip surface 309, from the shade 22. In this orientation, the shade 22may pass over the slide surface 208 a of the shade actuation roller 304.To open the shade 22 at substantially any extended position, theoperator may extend or retract the shade 22 to a desired position. Then,the operator may rotate the shade actuation roller 304 so that the gripsurface 309 of the protrusion 315 frictionally engages the rear sheet 34of the shade 22. After engagement of the protrusion 315 and the rearsheet 34, the front sheet 30 may be moved relative to the rear sheet 34by pivoting the bottom rail 18, which may allow the shade 22 to open orexpand.

FIGS. 15-17 illustrate a fourth example of a shade actuator system 402.The preceding discussion of the features and operation of the shadeactuator system 102, 202, 302 should be considered equally applicable tothe shade actuator system 402, except as noted in the followingdiscussion. The reference numerals used in FIGS. 15-16 generallycorrespond to the reference numbers used in FIGS. 1-14 to reflectsimilar parts and components.

With reference to FIGS. 15-16, the shade actuator system 402 isillustrated in two operational positions: a disengaged position (FIG.15) and an engaged position (FIG. 16). In the disengaged position (FIG.15), a grip surface 409 of the shade actuator system 402 may betranslated away from the rear shade 34 to permit extension andretraction of the shade 22 without interference from the grip surface409. In the engaged position (FIG. 16), the grip surface 409 of theshade actuator system 402 may be engaged with a rear sheet 34 of theshade 22, thereby obstructing the generally downward motion of the rearsheet 34 off of a front side of the roller 404, which may cause theshade 22 to open or expand under the influence of the bottom rail 18(FIGS. 1-2), the vanes 38 (FIG. 16), or both.

The grip surface 409 may be selectively slidable towards the shade 22 toselectively engage the grip surface 409 with the rear sheet 34 of theshade 22. When the grip surface 409 is spaced from the rear sheet 34,the rear sheet 34 may substantially freely slide over the guide 403.Conversely, when the grip surface 409 engages the rear sheet 34, thegrip surface 409 may substantially prevent the rear sheet 34 from movingrelative to the grip surface 409, which, as previously discussed inrelation to the shade actuator systems 102, 202, 302, may result in thebottom rail 18, the vanes 38, or both laterally separating the suspendedportions of the front and rear sheets 30, 34, thereby opening orexpanding the shade 22.

With continued reference to FIGS. 15-16, the shade actuator system 402may include a guide 403 and a shade actuation slider mechanism 404, bothof which may extend transversely between the end caps 26 across a fullwidth of the shade 22. The guide 403 may be rotatably or non-rotatablysupported by the end caps 26. The slider mechanism 404 may be slidablysupported by the end caps 26. The guide 403 may include an elongateshaft 408 having a rounded outer surface 408 a, which may besubstantially cylindrical. The outer surface 408 a of the guide 403 maybe generally smooth and may allow the rear sheet 34 to slide over theguide 403 substantially uninhibited. That is, the outer surface 408 a ofthe guide 403 may be formed as a slide surface. In some implementations,the shade actuator system 402 does not include the guide 403. In theseimplementations, the slider mechanism 404 may be positioned below theroller 40. In some implementations, the shade actuator system 420 isoperably coupled to opposing ends of the guide 403 to provide selectiveengagement or disengagement of the guide 403 with the shade 22. In theseimplementations, the slider mechanism 404 and the guide 403 may bepositioned below the roller 40.

With reference to FIGS. 15-17, the shade actuation slider mechanism 404may include a slider plate 417, a positioning device or key 418, acontact rail 420, a biasing element 422, and an abutment wall 424. Theslider plate 417, the positioning device 418, the biasing element 422,and the abutment wall 424 may be provided for each end cap 26. Thecontact rail 420 may extend transversely between the end caps 26substantially across a full width of the shade 22 and may attach atopposing ends to the respective slide plates 417 associated with theopposing end caps 26. The contact rail 420 may have an arcuate or curvedtransverse cross-section. The contact rail 420 may be formed as a gripsurface 409 or may include a grip 409 on a confronting face relative tothe shade 22.

The slider plate 417 may be slidable relative to the end cap 26, themounting plate 114, and/or the positioning device 418. With reference toFIG. 17, a slot 424 may be formed within a periphery of the slider plate417 and may extend axially along a length of the slider plate 417 in agenerally transverse direction relative to the contact rail 420. Theslot 424 may be configured to receive a retainer axle 426 protrudingoutward from the end plate 26, the mounting plate 114, or both. Theretainer axle 426 may at least partially locate the slider plate 417relative to the end cap 26, the mounting plate 114, or both. Theretainer axle 426 may limit the amount of axial travel of the slideplate 417 to the length of the slot 424 as the retainer axle 426 may beconstrained within the slot 424. Additionally or alternatively,longitudinal edges of the slider plate 417 may be received within sidetracks associated with the end cap 26, the mounting plate 114, or both.As such, the slider plate 417 may be substantially constrained to axialmovement limited by the length of the slot 424. The slider plate 417also may include a cam or positioning pin 428 that protrudes outwardfrom a bearing face of the slider plate 417. The positioning pin 428 mayextend into pathway or channel 430 defined by the positioning device418.

The positioning device 418 may be pivotable relative to the end cap 26,the mounting plate 114, and/or the slider plate 417. With reference toFIG. 17, the positioning device 418 may be pivotably mounted about theretainer axle 426. The positioning device 418 may define an axleaperture that snugly receives the retainer axle 426, therebysubstantially preventing translation of the positioning device 418relative to the end cap 26, the mounting plate 114, or the slider plate417.

With continued reference to FIG. 17, the pathway or channel 430 definedby the positioning device 418 may be recessed into a face of thepositioning device 418 that confronts the positioning pin 428 of theslider plate 417. The pathway 430 may form a closed loop path and maydefine a directing island 432 or engagement features, which similarlyhelp to define the channel 430. The directing island 432 may be shapedgenerally as an acute triangle having rounded edges and a recess definedon a bottom edge.

With continued reference to FIG. 17, the positioning pin 428 of theslider plate 417 may be travelable within the pathway 430. As the sliderplate 417 may be limited to axial travel along a lengthwise direction ofthe slot 424, the positioning pin 428 similarly may be limited to axialtravel. As such, the positioning pin 428 may contact the sidewalls ofthe directing island 432 during axial movement of the slider plate 417relative to the positioning device 418 and pivot the positioning device418 about the retainer axle 426 (see the locations of the positioningpin 428 and the positioning device 418 in FIGS. 15 and 16).

The orientation of the sidewalls of the directing island 432 relative toone another may create diversion peaks that may be off-center relativeto a seating position of the positioning pin 428 within the pathway 430(see FIG. 17 in which three seating positions are depicted). Theoff-center nature of the diversion peaks directs or diverts thepositioning pin 428 in a set direction around the directing island 432.For example, in FIG. 17, the orientation of the sidewalls of thedirecting island 432 generally directs or diverts the positioning pin428 in a counterclockwise direction around the island 432.

The configuration of the pathway 430 of the positioning device 418 andthe positioning pin 428 of the slider plate 417 may create a consistent,reliable, and repeatable mechanism that moves the contact rail 420, andthus the grip surface 409, axially toward and away from the shade 22 andprovides several seated positions for the contact rail 420. For example,with reference to FIG. 15, the contact rail 420 is positioned in adisengaged position in which the contact rail 420 is axially spacedapart from the shade 22 and the positioning pin 428 is seated in a firstrecessed pocket 434 of the pathway 430 (see FIG. 17) under the bias ofthe biasing element 422. With reference to FIG. 16, the contact rail 420is positioned in an engaged position in which the contact rail 420engages the rear sheet 34 of the shade 22 and the positioning pin 428 isseated in a second recessed pocket 436 of the pathway 430 (see FIG. 17)under the bias of the biasing element 422.

To move the slider plate 417 between the different seated positions, andthus the contact rail 420 toward and away from the shade 22, a drivesystem may be operably associated with the shade actuation slidermechanism 404. The drive system may include a pulley system, a solenoid,or other suitable drive systems. The drive system may be actuatedmechanically or electrically. In one implementation, a control cord isused to move the shade actuation slider mechanism 404 between thevarious seated positions.

With reference to FIGS. 15-16, when substantially uninhibited shadeextension or retraction is desired, an operator may translate the sliderplate 417 to disengage the contact rail 420, and thus the grip surface409, from the shade 22. In this position, the shade 22 may pass forwardof the contact rail 420 of the shade actuation slider mechanism 404. Toopen the shade 22 at substantially any extended position, the operatormay extend or retract the shade 22 to a desired position. Then, theoperator may translate the slider plate 417 so that the grip surface 309of the contact rail 420 frictionally engages the rear sheet 34 of theshade 22. After engagement of the contact rail 420 and the rear sheet34, the front sheet 30 may be moved relative to the rear sheet 34 bypivoting the bottom rail 18, which may allow the shade 22 to open orexpand.

FIGS. 18-24 illustrate a fifth example of a shade actuator system 502.The preceding discussion of the features and operation of the shadeactuator system 102, 202, 302, 402 should be considered equallyapplicable to the shade actuator system 502, except as noted in thefollowing discussion. The reference numerals used in FIGS. 18-24generally correspond to the reference numbers used in FIGS. 1-17 toreflect similar parts and components.

Referring to FIG. 18, the shade actuator system 502 may be operablyassociated with two rollers: a first or accumulator roller 40 and asecond or shade actuation roller 504. The accumulator roller 40 mayextend longitudinally between, and be rotatably coupled to, opposing endcaps 26, and may be formed as a tube. The shade 22 (see FIGS. 1A-2) maybe attached to the roller 40 such that rotational movement of the roller40 about its longitudinally-extending axis 41 may move the shade 22between extended and retracted positions. For instance, rotation of theroller 40 in a first direction may retract the shade 22 to a positionadjacent one or more sides of an associated architectural opening androtation of the roller 40 in a second, opposite direction may extend theshade 22 across the opening. An upper edge of each of the front and rearsheets 30, 34 of the shade 22 (see FIG. 2) may be coupled to aninwardly-directed, longitudinally extending gland or rib 42.

With continued reference to FIG. 18, the shade actuation roller 504 maybe offset from the accumulator roller 40 in generally parallelrelationship to the roller 40. The shade actuation roller 504 may beformed as a tube and may be substantially cylindrical. The shadeactuation roller 504 may extend longitudinally between, and be rotatablycoupled to, the end caps 26. The shade 22 may be draped over the shadeactuation roller 504 and extended downwardly from a rear side of theroller 504.

With reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, opposing ends of the rollers 40, 504may be supported by bushings 544, 545, respectively. The bushings 544,545 may be keyed to the rollers 40, 504 to rotate in unison with therollers 40, 504, respectively, relative to the end caps 26. The bushings544, 545 may extend at least partially into an interior space of theends of the rollers 40, 504, respectively. The bushings 544, 545 mayinclude a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, radially-extending ribs552 configured to engage an inner surface of the rollers 40, 504 and/orinteract with longitudinally-extending glands 42 formed in the rollers40, 504, respectively. Referring to FIG. 20, the bushings 545 may besupported by and rotatable relative to a stub shaft 512 protrudingaxially from the end caps 26. The bushings 545 may be axially secured tothe stub shaft 512 by a fastener 524.

Referring to FIG. 18, one of the bushings 544 may be operably associatedwith an operating system 503 that is rotatably supported by one of theend caps 26. The operating system 503 may be configured to rotate theroller 40 and thus move the shade 22 between extended and retractedpositions. The operating system 503 may receive an input force from auser pulling downwardly on an operating element 505 and convert theinput force into a rotational output force that rotationally drives theaccumulator roller 40 to wrap or unwrap the shade 22 about or from theroller 40. To retract the shade 22 from an extended position (see FIG.1A), the operator may pull the operating element 505 in a downwardlydirection to rotate the roller 40 in a retraction direction and wrap theshade 22 around the roller 40. To extend the shade 22, the operator maypull the operating element 505 in a lateral direction to rotate theroller 40 in an extension direction and unwrap the shade 22 from theroller 40. The operating system 503 may include a brake element to holdor maintain the shade 22 in a desired position. As previously discussed,other operating systems may be used to extend and/or retract the shade22, such as an electric motor and/or a spring assist module orcounterbalancing unit.

Referring to FIGS. 18-20, the bushing 544 opposite the operating system503 may be rotatably mounted onto a limit screw 519, which may form partof a limit assembly 516 configured to set a travel limit or stop for theshade 22. The limit assembly 516 may be positioned within the roller 40by inserting the limit assembly 516 through an opening defined by an endof the roller 40. The limit assembly 516 and the roller 40 may besubstantially aligned along the longitudinal axis 118 of the roller 40.The limit assembly 116 may include an externally-threaded, non-rotatableshaft or limit screw 519, a bottom stop 520 attached to the limit screw519, and a travelable nut 522 threaded onto the limit screw 519. Thelimit screw 519 may be non-rotatably attached to the end cap 26 via akeyed engagement with the end cap 26. A fastener 524 may axially securethe limit screw 518 to the end cap 26.

The travelable nut 522 may be threaded onto the limit screw 519 and maybe non-rotatably keyed to the roller 40. The nut 522 may rotatesubstantially in unison with the roller 40, which may cause the nut 522to translate or travel along a length of the limit screw 519 duringrotation of the roller 40. When the roller 40 is rotated in a shaderaising or retracting direction, the nut 522 may translate axially alongthe limit screw 519 away from bottom stop 520. Conversely, when theroller 40 is rotated in a shade dispensing or extending direction, thenut 522 may translate axially along the limit screw 519 toward thebottom stop 520. Upon the shade 22 reaching a fully-extended position,the nut 522 may contact or engage the bottom stop 520, therebysubstantially preventing further rotation of the roller 40.

The shade actuator system 502 may be operative to open or expand theshade 22 at substantially any extended position. Referring to FIGS.18-20, the shade actuator system 502 may include a cam mechanism 553that operably connects the accumulator roller 40 and the shade actuationroller 504. The cam mechanism 553 may be configured to selectively lockthe rotation of the shade actuation roller 504, causing the shade 22 toopen or expand, based on the rotation of the accumulator roller 40.

Referring to FIGS. 18-25, the cam mechanism 553 may include an engagedor locking position and a disengaged position. When in the engagedposition, the cam mechanism 553 may lock or prevent rotation of theshade actuation roller 504. The rotationally-locked or non-rotatableroller 504 may cause relative movement between the front and rear sheets30, 34 of the shade 22, resulting in the expansion or opening of theshade 22 during which the vanes 38 may tilt from a substantiallyvertical orientation below the roller 504 to a substantially horizontalorientation. When in the disengaged position, the cam mechanism 553 maypermit rotation of the shade actuation roller 504. The rotationally-freeor rotatable roller 504 may permit movement of the shade 22 over theroller 504 without interfering with the relative positioning of thesheets 30, 34, thereby permitting extension and retraction of the shade22 in a closed configuration.

The cam mechanism 553 may be actuated into the engaged position at anyextended position of the shade 22, providing the operator the ability toopen the shade 22 (see FIG. 2) at any shade position between fullyretracted and fully opened positions. In some examples, the cammechanism 553 is actuated by reversing the direction of the shade 22.For instance, the cam mechanism 553 may be moved into the engagedposition by moving the shade 22 in a first direction and subsequentlymoving the shade 22 in a second, opposite direction. In some examples,the cam mechanism 553 causes the shade 22 to expand or open within ½ to1 revolution of the accumulator roller 40 in the second, oppositedirection.

Referring to FIGS. 19-25, the cam mechanism 553 may include a rotationalcam plate 554, a pivotable cam follower or lever 556, and an engagementmember 558. The cam plate 554 may selectively rotate with theaccumulator roller 40 within an angular range operative to expand oropen the vanes 38. During rotation of the cam plate 554, the lever 556may be pivotally biased into engagement with the cam plate 554, and thelever 556 may selectively engage the engagement member 558 based on therotational position of the cam plate 554. When the lever 556 is engagedwith the engagement member 558, the lever 556 may prevent rotation ofthe shade actuation roller 504, causing the shade 22 to open or expandbeneath the roller 504. When the lever 556 is not engaged with theengagement member 558, the lever 556 may permit rotation of the shadeactuation roller 504, allowing extension and retraction of the shade 22in a closed configuration.

Referring to FIGS. 20-25, the cam plate 554 may be located adjacent oneend of the accumulator roller 40 and may be rotatable about thelongitudinal axis 41 of the roller 40. The cam plate 554 may be mountedonto one of the bushings 544, which may be keyed to the accumulatorroller 40 and rotatably mounted onto the limit screw 519 (see FIGS. 19and 20). The cam plate 554 may be formed as an annular or ring-shapedstructure. The cam plate 554 may include a cylindrical or substantiallycylindrical inner surface 560, which may be sized to fit around aportion of the bushing 544.

Referring to FIGS. 21-26, the cam plate 554 may be frictionally mountedonto the bushing 544 so that the cam plate 554 rotates in unison withthe bushing 544, and thus the roller 40, until a force is applied to thecam plate 554 in a direction opposing the rotation and in a magnitudethat overcomes the friction between the cam plate 554 and the bushing544. Referring to FIG. 26, a drag knuckle 588 may protrude radiallyoutwardly from a portion of the bushing 544 and may engage the innersurface 560 of the cam plate 554. The interface between the drag knuckle588 and the bushing 544 may generate a frictional force that ensures thecam plate 554 rotates in unison with the bushing 544 about thelongitudinal axis 41 of the roller 40 until acted upon by the lever 556.

Referring to FIGS. 21-25, the cam plate 554 may include a first camsurface 562 positioned radially outwardly of the inner surface 560. Thefirst cam surface 562 may extend in a curved path around a majority ofthe inner surface 560 and may terminate at abutment shoulders or stops564, which may extend outwardly from the first cam surface 562 at atransverse angle, such as an acute angle. The cam plate 554 may includea second cam surface 565 extending between the stops 564 opposite thefirst cam surface 562 such that the first cam surface 562, the stops564, and the second cam surface 565 form a closed loop. The first camsurface 562 may transition into inner ends of the stops 564, and outerends of the stops 564 may transition into the second cam surface 565. Insome examples, as measured about a central axis 41 of the accumulatorroller 40, the first cam surface 562 extends around about 160 degrees ofthe inner surface 560, the stops 564 are spaced about 20 degrees apartfrom one another, and the second cam surface 565 extends around about 20degrees of the inner surface 560 in opposing relationship the first camsurface 562.

With continued reference to FIGS. 21-25, the first cam surface 562 maydefine parking positions 566 adjacent the stops 564 and an intermediateportion 568 extending between and connecting the parking positions 566.The parking positions 566 may be disposed at a different radial distancefrom the central axis 41 of the accumulator roller 40 than theintermediate portion 568. In some examples, the parking positions 566may be disposed radially outwardly of the intermediate portion 568.

Referring to FIGS. 19-25, the lever 556 may be pivotally attached to apost 570 on the end cap 26. The lever 556 may be pivotable about thepost 570 relative to the engagement member 558. The lever 556 mayinclude a first or cam follower leg 572 and a second or locking leg 574.The cam follower and locking legs 572, 574 may extend away from the post570 at an angle relative to one another. In some examples, the camfollower and locking legs 572, 574 may extend at near right angles toone another. It is contemplated that this relative positioning may beadjusted as needed given the geometry of the particular usage.

With continued reference to FIGS. 19-25, the cam follower leg 572 mayextend away from the post 570 toward the cam plate 554. The cam followerleg 572 may contact and generally ride along the first cam surface 562,the second cam surface 565, or both. The cam follower leg 572 may bebiased into contact with the first and/or second cam surfaces 562, 565by a spring element 576, which may be seated against an abutment wall578 protruding axially from the end cap 26. The spring element 576 maybe positively located along the cam follower leg 572 by a fixed mandrel580 that protrudes from an outer surface of the cam follower leg 572.The end of the cam follower leg 572 may include an inturned foot 582that confronts and rides along the first cam surface 562.

With continued reference to FIGS. 19-25, the locking leg 574 may extendaway from the post 570 towards the engagement member 558. The lockingleg 574 may be selectively engageable with the engagement member 558based on the position of the cam follower leg 572 along the first and/orsecond cam surfaces 562, 565. The locking leg 574 may move in unisonwith the cam follower leg 572 and thus may pivot about the post 570 asthe foot 582 of the cam follower leg 572 moves along the first camsurface 562.

Referring still to FIGS. 19-25, the engagement member 558 may benon-rotatably secured to one of the bushings 545 and may be disposedalongside the cam plate 554. The locking leg 574 of the lever 556 mayengage the engagement member 558 to restrict rotation of the shadeactuation roller 504. Referring to FIGS. 21-25, the engagement member558 may be non-rotatably mounted onto the bushing 545 so that theengagement member 558, the bushing 545, and the shade actuation roller504 rotate in unison with one another about the longitudinal axis 518 ofthe roller 504 (see FIG. 18). In some examples, the engagement member558 may be formed as a circular frictional element that is frictionallysecured to the bushing 545. In some examples, the engagement member 558is a rubber O-ring. In some examples, the engagement member 558 is apolymer material overmolded onto the bushing 545. In some examples, theengagement member 558 is a cog wheel similar to the gear 110 and ispositively engaged by the locking leg 574 of the lever 556.

With reference to FIGS. 18-25, the longitudinal axis 518 of the shadeactuation roller 504 may be positioned rearwardly and upwardly of thelongitudinal axis 41 of the roller 40, and the pivot axis of the lever556 (defined by the post 570) may be positioned forwardly of thelongitudinal axis 518 of the shade actuation roller 504 and upwardly ofthe longitudinal axis 41 of the roller 40. The longitudinal axes of theroller 40, the shade actuation roller 504, and the lever 556 may besubstantially parallel to one another.

With reference to FIGS. 18-25, the shade 22 may be unwrapped from a topportion of the accumulator roller 40 in a rearwardly direction, drapedover the shade actuation roller 504, and extended downwardly from a rearside of the shade actuation roller 504. The shade actuation roller 504may be positioned rearwardly of the roller 40 and underneath the shade22 such that the shade actuation roller 504 may abut or contact thefront sheet 30 of the shade 22. The cam plate 554, the lever 556, andthe engagement member 558 may be positioned laterally outwardly of theside edges of the shade 22 so as to not interfere with the movement ofthe shade 22. That is, the shade 22 may be wrapped around theaccumulator roller 40 and draped over the shade actuation roller 504alongside the cam plate 554, the lever 556, and the engagement member558. In an alternative implementation, the arrangement of the roller 40,the shade actuation roller 504, and the cam mechanism 553 may be flippedfrom rear to front so that the shade 22 is unwrapped from a top portionof the roller 40 in a forwardly direction and the rear sheet 34 of theshade 22 contacts the roller 504.

Referring to FIGS. 18 and 21-25, an outer surface 508 a of the shadeactuation roller 504 may be formed as a grip surface 509 so thatmovement of the shade 22 over the shade actuation roller 504 when theroller 504 is in a rotatable state rotates the shade actuation roller504, and movement of the shade 22 over the roller 504 when the roller504 is in a non-rotatable state restricts motion of the front sheet 30of the shade 22, resulting in relative movement between the sheets 30,34 and opening or expansion of the shade 22 beneath the roller 504 (seeFIGS. 23 and 24). In some implementations, the shade actuator roller 504may be wrapped with a short nap fabric strip 584 (see FIGS. 21-25),which may define the grip surface 509 and may couple the motion of thefront sheet 30 and the actuation roller 504. The short nap fabric 584may engage or extend into openings or recesses defined by theconfronting front sheet 30, such as weave recesses. The short nap fabric584 may be time and temperature stable such that the short nap fabricdoes not change characteristic with time or temperature. The short napfabric 584 may be configured to not mar or wear off onto the sheets 30,34.

With reference to FIG. 21, the shade actuator system 502 is illustratedin a raising or raised position with the shade 22 in a closedconfiguration. In this raising or raised position, the lever 556 isdisengaged from the engagement member 558, resulting in free rotation ofthe shade actuation roller 504. As shown in FIG. 21, the tip of thelocking leg 574 may be positioned alongside the grip surface 509 andradially outwardly of the engagement member 558.

With continued reference to FIG. 21, the foot 582 of the cam followerleg 572 may be seated in the top parking position 566 b of the camsurface 562, resulting in the locking leg 574 being pivoted out ofengagement with the engagement member 558. During retraction of theshade 22 (retraction direction indicated by arrow 586 in FIG. 21), thefoot 582 engages the stop 564 to prevent the cam plate 554 from rotatingwith the accumulator roller 40. The engagement of the foot 582 againstthe stop 564 overcomes the frictional engagement of the cam plate 554and the bushing 545, allowing the accumulator roller 40 to continue torotate and retract the shade 22 after the foot 582 contacts the stop 564while preventing rotation of the cam plate 554. As such, after the foot582 engages the stop 564, the foot 582 remains in the top parkingposition 566 b during retraction of the shade 22, thereby maintainingthe lever 556 in a disengaged position during retraction of the shade22.

After the shade 22 is retracted to a desired position, the operator mayrotate the accumulator roller 40 less than one revolution in anextension direction (indicated by arrow 590 in FIG. 22) to expand oropen the shade 22. During extension of the shade 22, the cam plate 564may rotate in unison with the accumulator roller 40 due to thefrictional engagement between the cam plate 554 and the bushing 545, andmay rotate relative to the lever 556 such that the top stop 564 b movesaway from the foot 582. During rotation of the cam plate 554 relative tothe lever 556, the spring element 576 may bias the cam follower leg 572inwardly into contact with at least one of the cam surfaces 562, 565.

Referring to FIGS. 21-22, from the top parking position 566 b of FIG.21, an inner surface of the cam follower leg 572 initially may ridealong the second cam surface 565 to prevent the locking leg 574 fromprematurely engaging the engagement element 558, allowing the shade 22to extend over the shade actuation roller 504 without actuation of thevanes 38. The second cam surface 565 may permit the shade 22 and bottomrail 18 to extend from a fully retracted position a sufficient distancebeneath the head rail 14 before the cam mechanism 553 moves into theengaged position and expands or opens the shade 22. The configuration ofthe first and second cam surfaces 562, 562 also may enable use of thecam plate 554 on left or right hand coverings.

Referring to FIG. 23, after an initial rotation of the cam plate 554 inthe extension direction 590, the cam follower leg 572 may be biasedradially inwardly by the spring 576 so that the foot 582 rides along thefirst cam surface 562, resulting in the locking leg 574 pivotingradially outwardly about the post 570 into engagement with theengagement member 558 (see arrow 591 in FIGS. 22 and 23). Once engagedwith the engagement member 558, the locking leg 574 of the lever 556prevents the engagement member 558, and thus the shade actuation roller504, from rotating about its longitudinal axis 518. As the operatorcontinues to extend the shade 22 in the extension direction (see arrow592 in FIG. 23), the foot 582 of the lever 556 rides along theintermediate portion 568 of the first cam surface 562, which may bedefined at a constant radius about the longitudinal axis 41 of theaccumulator roller 40.

During movement of the foot 582 along the intermediate portion 568 ofthe first cam surface 562, the locking leg 574 remains in lockingengagement with the engagement member 558 to prevent rotation of theshade actuation roller 504. Referring to FIGS. 23 and 24, duringcontinued extension of the shade 22 in the extension direction 592, thegrip surface 509 of the rotationally-locked shade actuator system 502may prevent the front sheet 30 from moving over the shade actuationroller 504. As such, an extra length of the rear sheet 34 may beextended downwardly from the shade actuation roller 504 relative to thefront sheet 30, which may result in the bottom rail 18 and/or vanes 38separating the front and rear sheets 30, 34 as illustrated in FIG. 24.The bottom rail 18 and/or the vanes 38 may bias the front and rearsheets 30, 34 away from each other and may cause a portion of the frontsheet 30 to wrap around a bottom portion of the shade actuation roller504 (see FIG. 24). As shown in FIG. 24, a portion of the front sheet 30may collect in a downwardly bulge or droop between the accumulatingroller 40 and the shade actuation roller 504. The full opening orexpansion of the shade 22 may occur between about ½ to about 1revolution of the cam plate 554 in the extension direction 590 from thetop parking position 566 b.

Referring to FIGS. 24 and 25, as the accumulator roller 40 continues torotate in the shade extension direction 590, the cam plate 554 continuesto rotate in unison with the roller 40 and the foot 582 of the lever 556continues to ride along the intermediate portion 568 of the first camsurface 562. As the foot 582 approaches the bottom parking position 566a, the foot 582 rides upwardly along the first cam surface 562,resulting in the cam follower leg 572 pivoting radially outwardlyagainst the bias of the spring element 576 and the locking leg 574pivoting radially inwardly (see arrow 594 in FIG. 25) out of engagementwith the engagement member 558. Disengagement of the locking leg 574from the engagement member 558 releases the shade actuation roller 504and permits free rotation of the roller 504.

Upon release of the shade actuation roller 504, the weight of the bottomrail 18 (see FIGS. 1A and 2) and of the suspended portion of the frontsheet 30 may remove the slack of the front sheet 30 disposed between therollers 40, 504, thereby closing the vanes 38. Continued rotation of theaccumulator roller 40 in the extension direction 590 results in loweringof the shade 22 in the closed configuration. The engagement of the foot582 against the bottom stop 564 a may overcome the frictional engagementbetween the cam plate 554 and the bushing 544 and prevent the cam plate554 from rotating with the accumulator roller 40.

With continued reference to FIG. 25, to retract the shade 22 from anextended position, the operator may actuate the operating system 503(see FIG. 18) to rotate the accumulator roller 40 about its longitudinalaxis 41 in the retraction direction 586 (see FIG. 21). Upon rotation ofthe accumulator roller 40 in the retraction direction 586, the shade 22is pulled upwardly over the shade actuation roller 504 and wrappedaround the roller 40. The upwardly motion of the shade 22 causes theroller 504 to rotate in a retraction direction (clockwise in FIG. 21)about its longitudinal axis 518.

Referring to FIGS. 21-25 in reverse order, rotation of the accumulatorroller 40 in the retraction direction 586 (see FIG. 21) between about ½and about 1 revolution from an extended, closed position (see FIG. 25)resets the cam mechanism 563 into the disengaged position of FIG. 21.During retraction, the cam plate 554 initially rotates in unison withthe roller 40 due to the frictional engagement of the cam plate 554 andthe bushing 544. Upon the top stop 564 b of the cam plate 554 rotatinginto engagement with the foot 582 of the lever 556, the lever 556overcomes the frictional engagement between the cam plate 564 and theroller 40 and prevents the cam plate 564 from rotating with the roller40 in the retraction direction 586 (see FIG. 21). Once the foot 582reaches the top parking position 566 b (see FIG. 21), the cam mechanism563 is reset into its operative position where the cam mechanism 563expands or opens the shade 22 within ½ to 1 revolution of theaccumulator roller 40 in the extension direction 590 (see FIGS. 22-25).

During retraction of the shade 22, the shade actuation system 502 may beconfigured to permit free rotation of the shade actuation roller 504regardless of the pivotal position of the lever 556. When the lever 556is disengaged with the engagement member 558 (e.g., when the foot 582 isseated in the bottom or top parking positions 566 a, 566 b of the firstcam surface 562), the lever 556 does not obstruct the rotational motionof the engagement member 558 and thus of the shade actuation roller 504.When the lever 556 is engaged with the engagement member 558 (e.g., whenthe foot 582 is riding along the intermediate portion 568 of the firstcam surface 562), the locking leg 574 of the lever 556 may allow theengagement member 558 to slip past the locking leg 574 withoutrestricting the rotation of the shade actuation roller 504. As shown inFIGS. 21-25, the tip of the locking leg 574 may be directed or pointedgenerally in the retraction direction of the engagement member 558(clockwise in FIGS. 21-25) in a substantially acute or tangentialrelationship to an outer periphery of the engagement member 558, andthus the locking leg 574 does not obstruct the rotation of theengagement member 558 or shade actuation roller 504 during retraction ofthe shade 22.

Generally, raising the shade 22 less than one revolution of the roller40 resets the cam mechanism 563. Once the cam mechanism 563 is reset,raising the shade 22 further causes the resistive element 588 (see FIG.26) to slip relative to the bearing 544. The resistive element 588 maymaintain the cam plate 564 in a suitable position to lock the shadeactuation roller 504 upon lowering of the shade 22. When the shade 22 isextended downwardly, the cam plate 564 pivots the lever 556 intoengagement with the shade actuation roller 504 to lock the rotation ofthe shade actuation roller 504. Continuing to lower the shade 22 causesthe cam plate 564 to rotate with the accumulator roller 40 and expand oropen the shade 22. The cam plate 564 continues to rotate with theaccumulator roller 40 until the cam plate 564 pivots the lever 556 outof engagement with the shade actuation roller 504, which allows theroller 504 to rotate freely. Once the shade actuation roller 504 isfreely rotatable, the bottom rail 18 and/or the front sheet 30 mayrotate the roller 504 and close the shade 22 for further extension.

The foregoing description has broad application. While the providedexamples generally describe one type of shade, it should be appreciatedthat the concepts disclosed herein may equally apply to any type ofshade movable between closed or collapsed positions and open or expandedpositions. Accordingly, the discussion of any embodiment is meant onlyto be explanatory and is not intended to suggest that the scope of thedisclosure, including the claims, is limited to these examples. In otherwords, while illustrative embodiments of the disclosure have beendescribed in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventiveconcepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed, and that theappended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations,except as limited by the prior art.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the formor forms disclosed herein. For example, various features of thedisclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, orconfigurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. However,it should be understood that various features of the certain aspects,embodiments, or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, or configurations. Moreover, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Descriptionby this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment of the present disclosure.

The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or”, as used herein,are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive inoperation.

The term “a” or “an” entity, as used herein, refers to one or more ofthat entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “atleast one” can be used interchangeably herein.

All directional references (e.g., proximal, distal, upper, lower,upward, downward, left, right, lateral, longitudinal, front, back, top,bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, radial, axial, clockwise,and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aidthe reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not createlimitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use ofthis disclosure. Connection references (e.g., attached, coupled,connected, and joined) are to be construed broadly and may includeintermediate members between a collection of elements and relativemovement between elements unless otherwise indicated. As such,connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements aredirectly connected and in fixed relation to each other. Identificationreferences (e.g., primary, secondary, first, second, third, fourth,etc.) are not intended to connote importance or priority, but are usedto distinguish one feature from another. The drawings are for purposesof illustration only and the dimensions, positions, order and relativesizes reflected in the drawings attached hereto may vary.

What is claimed is:
 1. A covering for an architectural opening,comprising: an accumulator roller; a shade attached to and wrappableabout the accumulator roller, the shade including twolaterally-separable sheets interconnected by a plurality ofvertically-spaced vanes; and a shade actuation system selectivelyengageable with a confronting face of one of the two laterally-separablesheets, wherein engagement of the shade actuation system and the one ofthe two laterally-separable sheets restricts movement of the one of thetwo laterally-separable sheets relative to the other of the twolaterally-separable sheets.
 2. The covering of claim 1, wherein: theshade actuator system includes an actuation roller; and the shade drapesover the actuation roller.
 3. The covering of claim 2, wherein theactuation roller is rotatable.
 4. The covering of claim 3, wherein theactuation roller includes an outer surface with a grip surface.
 5. Thecovering of claim 4, wherein the shade actuator system includes a camplate rotatably coupled to the accumulator roller.
 6. The covering ofclaim 5, wherein the shade actuator system includes a lever engaged withthe cam plate.
 7. The covering of claim 6, wherein: the shade actuatorsystem includes an engagement member non-rotatably coupled to theactuation roller; and the lever is selectively engageable with theengagement member based on the rotational position of the cam plate. 8.The covering of claim 7, wherein: the lever includes a first leg thatengages the cam plate and a second leg that selectively engages theengagement member; and the lever is pivotable about an axis definedbetween the first and second legs.
 9. The covering of claim 4, whereinthe grip surface extends around an entire periphery of the actuationroller.
 10. The covering of claim 4, wherein the grip surface extendspartially around a periphery of the actuation roller.
 11. The coveringof claim 3, wherein the actuation roller includes anoutwardly-projecting fin.
 12. The covering of claim 2, wherein the shadeactuator system further includes a locking bar.
 13. The covering ofclaim 12, wherein: the actuation roller includes an external gear; andthe locking bar includes a lever with a gear profile corresponding tothe external gear.
 14. The covering of claim 13, wherein the shadeextends between the actuation roller and the locking bar.
 15. Thecovering of claim 1, wherein the shade actuator system includes: aplate; and a positioning device pivotably coupled to the plate.
 16. Thecovering of claim 15, wherein the plate is slidable relative to thepositioning device.
 17. The covering of claim 16, wherein: thepositioning device defines a pathway; and the plate includes a pin thatextends into the pathway.
 18. The covering of claim 17, wherein thepathway forms a closed loop.
 19. The covering of claim 18, wherein thepathway defines an island.
 20. The covering of claim 17, wherein thepathway is recessed into a face of the positioning device that confrontsthe plate.
 21. The covering of claim 1, wherein the shade actuationsystem is engageable with the one of the two laterally-separable sheetsat a partially extended position of the shade.